Xicheng, Tai'an Temple.
Master Guanghong stood in front of the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas, looking calmly into the distance and turning the rosary beads one by one in his hand.
Although the construction of palaces and temples in the busy city was not good for the Qing Dynasty, it was the most popular. It was not yet noon, but there was already an endless stream of pilgrims at Tai'an Temple. The green smoke from the furnace could be seen clearly from several streets away. How could any temple outside the city compare?
"Master Guanghong."
"Amitabha."
Whenever acquaintances of pilgrims passed by and said hello to him, he would bow his head and smile in response, but his heart was not as calm as on the surface.
The night before, Yaksha was sent to the city to find trouble with the nosy monk, but he never came back, and lost contact with himself without a word - the method of paper Yaksha is definitely not to find a piece of paper and draw the appearance and runes of Yaksha. It can be done. To make Yaksha come alive and have spirituality, it requires long-term accumulation. In order for Yaksha to transform into a strong body that is indestructible with swords and guns, it also needs continuous sacrifice.
Those two pieces of paper are consumables. Once they are gone, they are gone. But if they lose their spirituality, they will have to start all over again.
After years of accumulation, two out of three have been lost.
Master Guanghong knew that the other party was not simple, but he really couldn't accept it.
With the thought in mind, "Maybe the other party just happened to see that it was a paper yaksha, and happened to know that he should use fire to restrain it, so he won first." Last night, Master Guanghong sent out the dream ghost that he had supported for many years to start the second battle. Fighting.
Unexpectedly, the spell was cast during the third watch, and the dream ghost had not returned until the fifth watch. It was not until dawn that the dream ghost returned belatedly.
It was the other party who posted a talisman on the door.
This talisman alone made Meng Gui linger outside the door, anxious and unable to come in. He had to come back almost at dawn.
Dream ghosts often enter people's dreams and can create dreams, whether nightmares or sweet dreams. They are a big helper for him to defraud people to obtain incense. They can also take people's lives in dreams without the knowledge of gods and ghosts. Having borrowed incense from the temple for many years, Menggui was not comparable to ordinary monsters in terms of ability and intelligence, but he was stopped by a small talisman.
Master Guanghong was immediately shocked.
Except for Yasha and Menggui, he no longer has many abilities. Now he doesn't know where the other party's abilities are far above his own.
In panic, he ordered the last paper yaksha and a few paper soldiers and paper generals to wait in the house. It was not until he heard the temple bell ringing at dawn that he felt calmer. A disciple came to call him to eat, and he was finally freed from the state of panic and gradually came to his senses.
The other party came to Yidu for the first time, how did he know it was him?
Yidu is so big and crowded, how can we find him? Who would have dared to think that it was the eminent monk of Tai'an Temple who exorcised ghosts and harmed people at night?
Before I knew it, it was noon.
Master Guanghong turned around and saw the young novice monk ringing the bell in the attic.
………………
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The melodious bells sounded far away.
Song You, dressed in an old robe, climbed up the steps.
The calico cat followed him, looking left and right.
Pilgrims come and go all around.
You can also see many Jianghu people among them. I don't know if they are used to staying in temples, or they have sneaked into the city gate but there is still no way to lead them, so they have to stay here.
"The incense is so strong."
As a monk who was born in a Taoist temple, and as the heir to a Taoist temple, Song You is considered half a peer with the monks here. Seeing so many pilgrims at this time, his first thought was to calculate how much incense money he could collect every day based on Fulongguan's revenue model.
The leader must take care of the firewood, rice, oil and salt.
Monks also need to eat.
"Meow~"
The calico cat echoed him behind him, raising his head high at the same time, looking at the Buddha statues in the palace on the left and right, and at the huge cauldron filled with incense.
If it had known that the place it was coming to was someone else's temple, it probably wouldn't be willing to come. If it had known that it was coming to such a big temple, and that every god was golden and cigarette-like, it would never have come.
Now I have no choice but to bite the bullet and move forward.
"Meow~"
Trying to pretend to be a normal cat.
Song You couldn't understand what it was saying, but he slowed down and waited for it to catch up, walking side by side with it and watching as he walked.
Learn about the advanced experiences of your peers.
In terms of expanding followers and absorbing incense, Dayan's Buddhism was a dimensionality-reducing blow to Taoism.
Dayan's Taoism emphasizes freedom and freedom, and prefers to live and practice in the way you want. You may not pay attention to pilgrims when they come, and often don't even take the patron seriously.
Compared with Buddhism, it is somewhat noble.
Buddhism in Dayan is much more professional in this regard. Not only do they have a stronger willingness to preach, but they are also better able to cater to the ideas of believers and those in power.
Buddhism’s business also needs to be broader.
Take Tai’an Temple as an example——
In addition to incense and sesame oil, selling talismans and various consecration items, exorcising evil spirits and curing diseases, wedding ceremonies, naming and other services, they also provide accommodation, loan and other services. Some large temples have thousands of acres of land, which can also be rented out to tenants for income. , and even some temples in the city also function as commercial markets, where vendors set up stalls and have to pump water for them.
As for Dayan’s Taoist temple...
Whether you go to stay overnight depends on the mood of the viewer.
"It's incomparable."
It stands to reason that the world is full of gods and Buddhas. Taoism, as the native religion of Dayan, occupies the right time and place, and the Tiangong is in charge of all gods. At least in the legend of Dayan, the Chijin Emperor of Tiangong has the authority to command the Lord of Ten Thousand Buddhas. Would foreign Buddhism gain the upper hand so easily? But the fact is that since Buddhism entered Dayan, it has established a firm foothold and expanded rapidly with its strong operational capabilities and cohesion.
Song You didn't have much idea about this.
He is a fake Taoist priest, and he actually understands in his heart that gods and ghosts come from humans, and there is no essential difference between the two religions, Buddhism and Taoism. There are both good and evil people, both good and bad. It is also difficult to distinguish between people who worship Buddhism but suppress Taoism and those who worship Taoism but suppress Buddhism in terms of IQ.
But they are just human beings.
While thinking this, Song You had already walked around the temple and reached the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas in the middle.
He stopped at the door.
When I looked up, there were door couplets written on both sides:
Be a good person, keep your mind and body in good health, and your soul and dreams be stable;
Do some good deeds, and God knows and the earth knows the ghosts and gods.
Song You smiled and walked in through the door.
The strong aroma of incense hits my face.
I saw the majestic appearance of the Lord of Ten Thousand Buddhas in the middle, the surrounding Bodhisattvas were either kind or compassionate, and the protectors on both sides looked majestic and angry.
The smoke curls up like clouds and fog.
Many pilgrims knelt on the futon, including men, women and children. Some prayed silently, some recited aloud, some kowtowed and stood up to leave. People kept coming in from outside the door and knelt on his futon.
Thousands of wishes are shining brighter than the sun.
Chaotic sounds reached his ears.
Some asked Bodhisattva to help cure their family members' serious illnesses, some asked Buddha to bless their business smoothly, some hoped that their children would become a dragon, and some were unable to have children, and the sounds of longing and pleading could be heard.
"well……"
There are no shortage of three sticks of incense in front of the Buddha, and there are more than ten thousand sorrows in life.
Song You sighed and looked around, but didn't see any monks here.
Looking at the time, it's already dinner time.
He also went to burn three sticks of incense. When he looked back at the calico cat, he saw it hiding outside the threshold of the hall. The threshold was higher than it was. Its two front paws were pulling on the threshold. It was probably standing. A little head poked out from above the threshold, looking at him eagerly.
Song You smiled and walked out again.
"Let's go."
"Where to go?"
"Five Views Hall."
"what is that?"
“A place to eat.”
"Are you going to eat?"
"Okay."
When Song You thought of this, he suddenly stopped and put a few coins into the merit box. Now he decided to have lunch here: "I heard that the vegetarian meal in Tai'an Temple is quite famous. I don't know how to let it go." I won’t let you in.”
"oh……"
Sanhua Empress was shocked by the top bosses in the same industry before, but she still hasn't recovered yet. She subconsciously doesn't dare to make mistakes in this place and is only obedient.
Fortunately, the novice monk of Wuguan Hall did not stop it.
It was bustling inside, filled with faithful men and women, and many monks were eating. The monks and pilgrims in Tai'an Temple eat together, but most of the time monks sit with monks, and pilgrims sit with pilgrims. If there is really no room, they will sit together.
Song You glanced around, his eyes indifferent, and then walked towards one of the few empty seats.
"Master, can I sit here?"
Master Guanghong looked at Song You subconsciously——
His status in Tai'an Temple is not low, and the same is true in the hearts of pilgrims. Even if the monks of Tai'an Temple eat together with the pilgrims, most pilgrims will not sit at the same table with him to show respect. Often only distinguished guests have the courage to come. Or be invited by him.
This one doesn't look like an honored guest.
But seeing that this person was a stranger, and seeing that the Five Views Hall was almost full, I almost had a problem with him.
No matter what, he would never refuse.
"Donor, please."
"Thank you."
Song You smiled and sat down to dine at the same table with Master Guanghong, two other monks and three nobles.
There were no good dishes. With pickled radish, fermented bean curd and two side dishes, he drank a bowl of vegetable porridge. He felt that it had no special taste, and he roughly understood that the fast food here may be famous because it is friendly to the lower class and has been serving porridge for a long time. Caused by.
At the same time, everyone at the table finished eating one after another, said goodbye and left the table, but Master Guanghong was worried and ate more slowly.
While eating, he suddenly heard someone calling him.
"Master Guanghong."
Master Guanghong looked up and saw that the young pilgrim who came last was looking at him calmly.
At some point a cat sat next to him.
"Amitabha."
Master Guanghong put aside his worries for the time being, placed his chopsticks horizontally on the bowl, put his hands together and saluted, and said in a gentle voice:
"Does the donor recognize the poor monk?"
"I recognize it."
The pilgrim smiled and said, still staring at him, and then spoke again: "But Master Guanghong doesn't seem to recognize me."
"Um?"
Master Guanghong suddenly had an ominous premonition in his heart and quickly confessed: "The poor monk is forgetful and does not know the name of the benefactor..."
"My surname is Song and my name is You."
"who?"
Master Guanghong was suddenly shocked and his eyes widened.
It suddenly attracted the attention of many people.
